Ignore PR at Your Peril!

If you do, it means:

  • you don't value tracking the perceptions of important outside audiences whose behaviors could sink your ship:

  • you don't care about setting a public relations goal designed to correct misconceptions, inaccuracies or rumors that can hurt you;

  • you care even less about strategies to get you from here to that PR goal you already don't care about;

  • and you certainly don't value the persuasive messages you need to convince your key outside audiences that their damaging perceptions of your enterprise are dead wrong.

    Man, that's risky and an awful lot not to care about!

    Actually, I don't believe you don't care, and I don't believe you're really ignoring public relations. If you were, by now your organization would be on its last legs, Kaput!, Morto!

    In fact, you may be a closet PR person who knows better. Why you may even buy the fundamental premise of public relations:

    "People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished."

    I'll bet you're also pretty darn good at monitoring what that #1 external audience thinks about you and your organization. And that you regularly interact with them asking questions like What do you think of us? Why? while watching for negative undertones, wrong-headed beliefs or misconceptions.

    And that means you'll be anxious to create a public relations goal that corrects such misconceptions because they can lead directly to negative behaviors that will hurt you.

    In practice, your goal may be focused on pacifying an activist group, reinforcing prospect interest in your product or service, or even countering a painful rumor.

    You're probably ahead of me in forming the strategy you need to reach that goal. For better or worse, there are only three ways to deal with opinion or perception problems. Create some all-new opinion where none exists, change existing opinion, or reinforce it.

    With goal and strategy both in hand, you now have some real work to do. What will you need to say to your key audience members to persuade them to your way of thinking? You must be clear about what should be corrected or clarified. You must also be persuasive, and your facts and figures believable. And if appropriate, try to be compelling, perhaps with a certain sense of urgency.

    Your "foot soldiers" ? communications tactics ? can now carry that hard-won message to the attention of your #1 target audience, and there are scads of them just waiting for you to send them into action. For example, speeches, news releases, brochures, special events, radio interviews and one-on-one meetings.

    One question remains. How do you tell whether or not you are making any headway with your public relations effort?

    You again interact with members of that key audience of yours. And yes, with questions very similar to those you asked during your original information gathering exercise at the start of the program. Only this time, you are more interested in whether your communications tactics have moved perceptions in your direction.

    Do the new responses show signs that your were successful in changing that inaccurate belief? Or correcting that misconception? Or killing that dangerous rumor for good?

    Not enough movement? Take another look at your message to see if it is really compelling. Is it honestly persuasive? Are your facts supportive of your goal and strategy? Is it written clearly enough?

    I want to reemphasize that what you are looking for at this stage is a strong indication that your efforts have clearly moved perceptions and target audience behaviors in the desired direction.

    When this second monitoring drill allows that conclusion, you will have good reason to value highly your public relations goal, strategy, message and communications tactics.

    Together, they will have made it possible for you to say, as promised in the fundamental premise,"My public relations mission is accomplished."

    Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

    Robert A. Kelly ? 2003

    About The Author

    Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@tni.net

    Visit: mailto:bobkelly@tni.net

    cleaning help near Mundelein ..
    In The News:

    New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.
    A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
    AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
    A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
    New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
    The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
    Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
    Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
    Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
    Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
    Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
    Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
    Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
    iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
    Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
    FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
    Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
    Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
    Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
    Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
    Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
    The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
    Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
    New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
    FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
  • Attention PR Shoppers!

    As a business, non-profit or association manager, what do you... Read More

    Making Your Own News

    Getting a press release published in a newspaper or magazines... Read More

    Guerrilla PR- Chapter One

    THE NATURE OF MEDIAThirty years ago, Marshall McCluhan, the father... Read More

    Talk Radio Success

    You do not have to hire a publicist or advertise... Read More

    Make Front Page News By NOT Inviting The Media

    Not a single reporter showed up at our news event.... Read More

    Can Media Coverage Build An Online Business? You Bet It Can!

    As someone with expertise in media relations, I've been asked... Read More

    Why Do You Want PR?

    To get someone's name in the newspaper or a product... Read More

    Generating Publicity For Your Business: Knowing Your Media Market Is Critical

    When starting a successful business venture or launching a new... Read More

    Online Business Press Release Writing Tips And Ideas

    Press releases are one of the most cost-effective ways to... Read More

    A New Idea For Venture Capitalists

    Obviously, it hurts when a promising business project you backed... Read More

    Financial Planners, Make Sure Reporters Comprehend Your Topic

    Don't assume that a reporter understands financial planning. If anything,... Read More

    Media Training: How To Speak During a Media Interview

    WHITE NOISEA client recently told me about a fascinating new... Read More

    Which PR? Judge for Yourself

    You are a senior business, non-profit or association manager. So,... Read More

    Media Training: Three Reasons to (Almost) Always Stay On-The-Record

    The words are pop culture heroes.Movies such as "The Insider,"... Read More

    Media Relations: When Google Got Googled

    Before meeting my soon-to-be-wife for the first time, I "Googled"... Read More

    Public Relations: Converting the Non-Believers

    What's the real reason some managers shy away from public... Read More

    PR: Your 500 Pound Gorilla

    What else, for goodness sake, could you as a business,... Read More

    Rise of the Creative Class

    The fast changing dynamics of the world economy is forcing... Read More

    Publicity and Marketing Magic For Financial Planners: The Four Mores

    Publicity will take your financial planning practice, your business, and... Read More

    Its CNN! They Want To Talk To You!

    Being invited to appear on radio and television used to... Read More

    Ill Alert The Media

    There is something newsworthy happening at your organization right now.... Read More

    How to Get Publicity for a Service Business

    Many of our clients are in service businesses, such as... Read More

    Networking: 17 Essential Strategies In The 21st Century

    It is virtually impossible to succeed professionally and personally without... Read More

    Publicity - Tips on Dealing With the Media

    You thought of it, you researched it, you wrote it.... Read More

    Forget The Story Youre Promoting ? Heres What Journalists Really Want From PR People

    Although it seems less common these days, there are still... Read More

    reliable maid service Wilmette ..